Details of Ownership

This summary provides you with a brief overview of what is involved in purchasing one of the Villas at Contadora, located on the island of Contadora, in the Republic of Panama.

Location

The island of Contadora is one of about 220 Pearl Islands, located about 40 miles from Panama City, the capital of the Republic of Panama. It is serviced by four daily flights from Albrook Airport in Panama City. Round-trip flights cost about $60.00, and take approximately 15 minutes. Please visit Aeroperlas at www.tacaregional.com or Air Panama at www.flyairpanama.com for complete details. We recommended that you make reservations before planning your trip. Giulia Gonzalez in our International Living office’s in Casco Viejo can assist you with this.

Panama City is serviced by several international airlines from many major U.S. cities. When you arrive at Panama City's Tocumen International Airport, you'll need to take a 15-minute shuttle to the city's domestic airport, located in Albrook. The island of Contadora is approximately 650 acres in size. The Villas at Contadora are located on the north side of the island along Galeon Beach, within easy walking distance from the airport.

Climate and environment

The year-round daily high temperatures on Contadora range from 80 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Average year-round temperatures are in the mid to upper 80s. The area enjoys regular ocean breezes and an equatorial climate. Average rainfall is about 1,140 to 2,290mm per year on the Pacific side of the country, about half that of the Caribbean side. The rain is confined mainly from mid-April to mid-December. Even during the rainy season, all-day rains are very rare.

Typically, rain arrives in downpours and lasts less than an hour, usually around midday.

The driest months on the Pacific side are mid-December through April. Another thing to mention is that Panama lies below the hurricane track. The 13 beaches of Contadora (including the country's only nudist beach) enjoy translucent blue-green ocean waters, with water temperatures regularly in the 70s.

Island services

Contadora has two resorts, each of which has a restaurant, a bar, and a pool. The island has a small police force, a medical center, several restaurants, a handful of well-stocked small grocery stores, and a few souvenir shops.

On Contadora Island, you can charter a fishing boat, rent jet-skies, golf carts, bikes, four-wheelers, snorkeling and scuba equipment. You can play golf on the small nine-hole course (although you shouldn’t make this the whole purpose of your trip...the course is pretty rustic). You can hire a boat to take you to do some whale watching, or wander the island in search of birds and exotic wildflowers. The island’s 13 beaches are open for everyone's use. You can walk the entire island in less than two hours...although I suggest renting a golf cart and saving your energy for strolling the beach.

Purchasing

The Villas at Contadora that we currently have available for sale range from one bedroom, one and a half bath to two-bedrooms, two and a half baths...and they all the come completely furnished.

The only one bedroom, one and a half bathroom villa we have (approximately 1,100 square feet) is available for $199,000.

Of the two two-bedroom, two and a half bathroom villas we have for sale, both are approximately 1,500 square feet. The difference in these two villas (besides floor plans) is the view to the ocean. The villa that does not have an ocean view is on sale for $235,000. The two-bedroom villa that does have an ocean view (and is furnished with more expensive furniture) is available for $289,000.

For a better look at the layout of the Villas at Contadora, use the following link to view the layout of the Villas at Contadora: http://www.contadoravillas.com/masterplan.html . (The photos currently posted on the web site are not very flattering as the Villas at Contadora have since been restored since they were taken. If you would like to see current photos, just let me know and I can forward them onto you).

On that map, you can find the $199,000 one-bedroom villa marked as #14, the $235,000 two-bedroom villa marked as #15 and the other two-bedroom villa ($289,000) marked as villa #8.
 
If you decide you would like to purchase one of the Contadora Villas, we can help you the whole way by preparing a standard Sales Contract and fax or mail it to you. After your review and approve the contract, you will have to sign the contract and return it, along with a non-refundable deposit $5,000 to separate your villa. From your date of contract, you will have (30) days in which to visit the Villas at Contadora (if you haven’t done so already). If you decide to move forward with your purchase, your deposit will increase to $20,000.00, with $10,000.00 of the deposit non-refundable. The deposit will be held by the law offices of our Panama City attorney, Rainelda Mata-Kelly.

At closing, you will be required to pay the full balance due. In addition to the purchase price, closing costs include 2% of the purchase price for local counsel fees and a proration of any property taxes paid to date.

While financing for the Villas at Contadora is not available through IL specifically, most local Panama banks are able to offer up to 80% financing. If you are interested in finding a good bank, I can provide the contact information for you.

Title & taxes

The Law Offices of Rainelda Mata-Kelly will give you a recorded escritura when you have closed on your Villa.
Under the terms of the contract, you agree to pay all municipal taxes due on your Villa from the date you purchase it. At present, typical annual property taxes for a villa are about $500 per year.

The Villas at Contadora Owner's Association

When you purchase your Villa at Contadora, you automatically become a member of the Owner's Association, for which there are annual dues. The Association is a non-profit Panamanian corporation, governed by a board of directors elected by members of the Association (i.e. the Villa owners). Some of its most important areas of concern are maintaining the common areas of the Contadora Villas and enforcing the Association's bylaws. If you are interested in seeing the bylaws of the Owner’s Association, I can supply you with a copy to get an idea of how they operate. Just let me know.

Monthly dues are used for items such as improvement and maintenance of common amenities, (i.e. swimming pool, common electricity for exterior lighting, landscaping, and groundskeeping), payment of Association property taxes, and insurance, among others. Monthly dues are expected to be approximately $100 per month.

Other utilities

The Villas at Contadora are serviced by several public utilities including publicly provided electricity, telephone, and water & sewer service. These expenses are billed individually to each Villa owner.

For your protection

The Villas at Contadora are safeguarded by a number of covenants and restrictions that have been placed on all properties within the development. These are designed to ensure your enjoyment and protection of your home, and do the same for your neighbor.

Panama has a developed insurance market with policies for property damage and liability, with limits and prices similar to those found in the United States. When you purchase a Contadora Villa, you have a property insurance policy at or before closing. We will be happy to provide you with contact information for our recommended insurance company, the same one used for all of the Contadora Villas.

Come visit

We understand that you may want to see the Villas at Contadora before going through with a purchase. For that reason, we can help you with all the necessary arrangements once you make it to Panama (or before you even make it here). Just let me know if you’d like to make a trip.

If you decide to rent out any of our remaining Villas at Contadora and then go on to buy one, your stay with us on the island will be free. We’ll knock the price off of the sale price right before closing!

Rentals

As alluded to in the paragraph above, The Villas at Contadora already make ideal vacation rentals and are available for you to enjoy or “test” before committing. To book a stay at one of our Villas at Contadora, just let me know.

Want More Information?

If you have any questions on Panama or more specifically, the Island of Contadora, and The Villas at Contadora, please don't hesitate to ask. Brandon Clogston in International Living’s Panama office can be reached via
 http://www.il-ireland.com/il/questionnaire/contadora-2/  or phone at +(507) 212-0344 or by fax at +(507) 212-3771.